Gyeongju Spring 2014

Gyeongju Spring 2014

Gyeongju 경주

Springtime! What better way than to see the countryside!
This time, we decided to take a trip to Gyeongju , a historically significant city in the middle of the Korean peninsula.
It was the capital city of the Shilla kingdom 

We started off at the ever excellent Changi Airport in Singapore.
This time, they had a flower/plant sculpture made to resemble the Roman Coliseum

Flower Dog and I took Korean Air and opted for the preorder Seafood meal.
We got the meal ahead of other pax and it was actually very tasty and filling.
Highly recommend it!

As during Spring time in Korea and China, there are occasional yellow dust sandstorms which blow in from Mongolia. This was one such time unfortunately.
The skies were quite hazy and we opted to wear n95 masks.
Health is important!

This was lunch at a Korean Chinese restaurant.
The below pics show panfried meat dumplings and a spicy seafood noodle soup called Champong(짬뽕), popular in Korea.
It can be quite spicy! Be prepared! 

At Seoul Station, we took the high speed KTX to Gyeongju .
KTX has free wifi though only for a limited time period.

There were lots of lunchbox stalls at the station.
We picked up a riceball lunchbox but it wasnt all that good. :(

Gyeongju station! Arrival at last.
Fortunately, the air has cleared up due to the recent rain.
The scenery along the way was all plains and not very spectacular.

The attractions in Gyeongju are quite spread out and require the use of public transport (if you are not driving). For our trip, we mostly took the local buses.

We headed off to Anapi Pond, part of the old palace.
Highly recommend going to this site during dusk as you can capture both the day and night views.
The evening lights give the former palace a different perspective.
Very pretty at night!

This is Cheomseongdae Observatory, near Anapi Pond, just across the road.
It is the oldest observatory in the Far East.
Wonder if they saw UFOs back then...

We finished off the night by having a dinner of tofu soup at a restaurant on the road side.
It was low season for tourism and we were the only patrons.
The side dishes that this restaurant gave, were amazing!
Way more side dishes than a comparable dish in Seoul.
It was the same case in Busan as well.
Very tasty food and cheap too!

We woke up to a misty morning.
Still some patches of snow on the ground.

Morning breakfast at the hotel was equally splendid!
I like the food culture in Gyeongju. :)

Early spring time flowers!
So pretty!

This is a drinkable spring water well.
There are scoops along the sides where people can use to get some water.

We took a local bus to the popular ancient Buddhist temple Bulguksa.
This temple was built many hundreds of years ago back in 774 and was a center for Buddhism.
Most definitely worth a visit if you are interested in Korean culture and Buddhism.

 The chinese characters above the gate read "Heavenly King Gate".

 Interesting mix of ancient and modern buildings.

Near our hotel which was in the tourist resort area, there is also a Teddy Bear Museum.
Similar to the one in Seoul but with different exhibits.
Worth visiting if you like teddy bears! :)

This ends our trip to Gyeongju.
Hope you had fun reading!

btw, this burger is killer good!
They have it at Lotte fast food restaurants.